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How do I know if my strength training program is working?
Answered by Nikkiey Stott and her guests · Updated
The short answer
Your program is working if you're getting stronger, progressing your weights, improving your form, recovering well, consistently hitting your protein and noticing your clothes fit differently. Nikkiey Stott also asks how long you've truly been consistent, and whether the plan is failing or your body is simply changing more slowly than you expected.
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Nikkiey's checklist of questions to ask before deciding your program isn't working
Plays from 18:57 · Ep. 392: Why Switching Programs Stalls Muscle After 40
Why a failing plan and unrealistic expectations are two very different problems
Plays from 19:31 · Ep. 392: Why Switching Programs Stalls Muscle After 40
The eight-week lifter who's getting stronger but feels her body isn't changing
Plays from 1:47 · Ep. 392: Why Switching Programs Stalls Muscle After 40
The full answer
On Ep. 392, Nikkiey asks you to run through a few honest questions before deciding your program isn't working or jumping to a new one:
- Am I getting stronger?
- Am I progressing, if I'm tracking my weights?
- Is my form getting better?
- Am I recovering?
- Am I consistently hitting my protein?
- Am I getting past the story that eating more will make me fat?
- Do my clothes fit differently?
- How long have I actually been doing this consistently?
Then comes the question she calls the biggest one: is the plan not working, or is my body just not changing as fast as I expected? She points out these are two completely different things, and in her experience it's usually not the plan. It's the expectations going into it. She describes a common case: a woman who has strength trained consistently for eight weeks, is eating her protein, following her nutrition and getting stronger in her lifts, yet says she doesn't feel like her body is changing. By every measure on that list, her program is working. The mirror just hasn't caught up yet.
That's why Nikkiey asks you to look at the full picture rather than judging a few weeks at a time. The year will pass either way. You can spend it training for three weeks, getting frustrated, switching programs, burning out and taking two weeks off, or you can stick with the boring work that actually works and let it compound. If you're getting stronger and staying consistent, the issue probably isn't you or the plan. It's the timeline you gave it.
From Nikkiey Stott and WarriorBabe's coaching. For education, not medical advice: talk to your doctor about your own health.
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Strength Training for Women
Will working out more days a week get me results faster?
No. Nikkiey explains that adding a sixth or seventh workout won't speed up your results, because muscle is built during recovery, not during the workout itself. Training hard every day, especially while under-eating, raises your risk of burnout and injury and actually slows progress. Consistent strength training, enough protein and real rest are what move the needle.
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Strength Training for Women
How many days a week should I lift weights?
Three to four days a week is Nikkiey's core recommendation for women over 40: 30 to 45 minutes per session, built on compound lifts and progressive overload, with walking on off days and seven to eight hours of sleep. Lifting six or seven days a week, she says, breaks down muscle faster than you can rebuild it.
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Strength Training for Women
Are classes like F45 or Orangetheory enough to build muscle?
Not on their own. Nikkiey explains that F45, Orangetheory and CrossFit include strength work but don't prioritize muscle growth the way a progressive overload program does, because everyone in the room does the same workout. Keep the classes if you love them, but make them about 20% of your training and progressive lifting the other 80%.
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22 minWhy Switching Programs Stalls Muscle After 40
Episode 392 · Aug 31, 2026